Berserk
| rarity = Uncommon | type = Unit Enchantment | combat_casting_cost = | research_cost = | effects = The enchanted unit's Melee Attack strength is doubled, while its Defense score is reduced to exactly . }} :This article is about the Death spell "Berserk". For the unit of a similar name, see Berserkers. Berserk is an Uncommon Unit Enchantment belonging to the realm. The spell may only be cast during combat, for a base Casting Cost of . It must be targeted at a friendly unit. The targeted unit's Melee Attack strength is raised to double its current value, though the unit's Defense score is reduced to exactly . The spell lasts only until the end of combat, and has no Upkeep Costs. There is no lasting, overland version of this spell. Effects Berserk drives a unit wild with combat frenzy, allowing it to attack with twice as much ferocity as normal. However, the unit no longer gives any regard to its own safety, and so loses any chance to block incoming damage to itself. Doubled Melee Attack While Berserk is affecting a unit, that unit's Melee Attack strength is raised to exactly double the amount the unit would have without Berserk. This allows the unit to potentially inflict twice as much damage as normal - and subsequently increases the average amount of damage the unit will inflict with each attack by 2x. This doubling is applied after any bonuses or penalties which the unit receives from any other source. For example, a unit with and affected by the Black Channels spell is targeted by Berserk. The unit's current Melee Attack is + = . Berserk doubles this final value, so the unit now has a Melee Attack with a strength of exactly * 2 = . Note that benefit greatly from this, as each individual figure's Melee Attack strength is doubled. However, tend to have very high Melee Attack strengths to begin with, and thus can end with ridiculously-high attack values themselves. Therefore most targets will benefit from this effect to a great extent. Nullified Defense Score While Berserk is affecting a unit, that unit's Defense score is reduced to exactly . This means that whenever this unit is attacked, it cannot make any Defense rolls at all to block incoming damage. Of course the unit may still use its Resistance score to block certain effects - just not ones that apply direct damage. The Defense score is absolutely nullified regardless of any Unit Enchantments or effects that may be increasing it at the time. While Berserk is active no effect can raise the unit's Defense score above 0. For example, a unit under the effect of Iron Skin should get a Defense bonus of , but while Berserk is in effect the unit's Defense score is still exactly 0. The bonus is simply ignored. Usage Berserk may only be cast during combat. It has a base Casting Cost of , and must be targeted at a friendly unit on the battlefield. The spell remains in effect until the end of battle, or until dispelled by the opponent. When Berserk's effect ends, the unit's properties will return to their normal state. Once the spell is in effect, the unit will glow with a aura, unless there is a more powerful spell also affecting it. Acquisition As an Uncommon spell, Berserk may become available to any Wizard who possesses at least one Spellbook. However, its availability during the game is almost never guaranteed. Customized Wizards possessing Spellbooks at creation time may choose this spell as one of their default spells before starting the game, in which case the spell will already be researched and available for casting immediately on the first turn. Wizards who possess at least Spellbooks, or Wizards with Spellbooks who did not select Berserk as a guaranteed spell, will be able to Research this spell at some point during their campaign. Wizards with fewer than Spellbooks have a random chance of being able to Research it. The chance for this spell to appear increases with the number of Spellbooks the Wizard possesses or obtains during gameplay. Berserk has a base Research Cost of . With at least Spellbook, the Berserk spell may be acquired as a reward for winning encounters in creature Lairs, Towers, et cetera, or when conquering the Fortress of a rival wizard who has already researched this spell. Strategy Berserk can turn any unit into an absolutely terrifying Melee Attacker, especially if this unit is already very powerful. It even doubles the effect of Melee Attack-increasing bonuses that are currently affecting the unit, and can potentially increase its attack strength to ridiculously-high levels. On the other hand, it makes the unit incredibly weak defensively. Any attack made upon this unit can cause massive damage to it, which means that the unit may be destroyed quite easily. The best times to cast this spell would be when an enemy unit has plenty of Defense, and thus your units will benefit from an increase in their Melee Attack strength in order to overcome this defense. This is especially true when the enemy's Defense score is or higher, which few other units can match. The best targets for Berserk are obviously units with First Strike, since the lost defense doesn't hurt you when the enemy can't counterattack at all. Other viable choices are units which already have a very high Melee Attack score, since the higher it is the more benefit you get from doubling it; and units that already have poor or no defense (such as Werewolves or Phantom Beasts) - they stand little to lose from the spell, only gaining its advantages! Remember that Berserk can easily turn your unit into a target - especially if the enemy is using plenty of Ranged Attackers (who will turn it into a pincushion rapidly!). Therefore, units with plenty of make good targets, as they will tend to survive for a longer period of time even while taking substantial damage. You could also delay casting Berserk until the very last moment - allowing the targeted unit to defend itself up until it reaches the enemy, and only then explode with destructive rage on the target. In most cases, expect your Berserking unit to either take plenty of damage or be destroyed entirely. This is one of the reasons why Regenerating units, such as Werewolves, make great targets for this spell - it doesn't really matter if they die, because they will come back to life as long as you actually manage to win the battle. Whenever they make contact with the enemy, hordes of Berserking Regenerating units are exceptionally effective. Category:Unit Enchantments Category:Death